Sparks Fly
by PrincessPanda93
Summary: Jeff is devastated when his guardian dies. The last thing he wants is some other dhampir waltzing into his life like he can replace Ben. But he wants to learn how to defend himself, and a guardian is the best teacher he can get. The only thing Nick can't help him with is magic. But it's a start. Because evil is out there, evil will always be out there.


**Ever since the **_**Vampire Academy **_**movie came out, I have been in the full throws of my obsession with this series. I just finished rereading the series – **_**for the fifth time**_

**And so today, while I was "doing my humanities homework" this gem of an idea popped into my head!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights over Niff or the vampires created by the incredible Richelle Mead.**

Prologue

"Jeff," Ben said.

"Just another minute," Jeff replied, his fingers flying away on his laptop.

The sun had already set and Ben was getting nervous. Bad things happened in the dark. "We've lost the sun, Jeff, we need to go."

"I guess it's a good thing I've got the best guardian around." Jeff's warm brown eyes didn't look up from his screen as he continued to type. "This paper is due tonight. I gotta get it done."

Ben sighed and began pacing behind his companion.

The two were a stark contrast. Jeff was blond, Ben had black hair. Jeff was tall and slim, Ben was average height and clearly muscled. Jeff was almost unnaturally pale, Ben had an olive complexion. Typical differences between Moroi and dhampirs.

As Jeff continued to type he blew out a sigh. "Ben," he said. Finally his long fingers came to a standstill. "This is Los Angeles. There are plenty of easier targets for the Strigoi than me. Chill out."

The Strigoi. Evil and undead, they were the stuff of nightmares. They were also the reason twenty-six year old Benjamin McCall pretended to be a student at UCLA with Jeff Sterling. _They come first_. The Moroi. The peaceful, living vampires, who wielded elemental magic and were just as mortal as anyone else. Unlike the Strigoi, who ripped out throats for the hell of it and were _very_ hard to kill.

But Ben had been specially trained to do just that. All dhampirs were. Along with the Moroi children, young dhampirs were sent off to large, private academies that not only protected the kids, but gave them the training they needed for a life protecting Moroi and fighting Strigoi.

Typically, through an unfair system, the guardians were distributed among the elite, to Moroi from the twelve royal families. But a lot of changes have been occurring since the last queen, Tatiana Ivashkov had been murdered, and the new queen, young and beautiful Vasilisa Dragomir, had been crowned. Powerful "common" Moroi had been able to get their hands on some of their own guardians. They didn't have as many as royals got, but it was a small improvement, one that was the start of all sorts of changes that had the potential to come.

"This is a long minute," Ben said a half hour later. They were pushing nine o'clock and Ben was considering dragging Jeff out.

"Almost done," Jeff murmured his fingers typing out the last few sentences. "There," he said a moment later. "Just gotta email it in."

Ben impatiently waited as his client and friend logged onto his email, quickly opening a new message and attaching the file he just completed. As soon as the like box claiming Jeff's message was sent popped up, Ben shut the laptop. "Hey!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Let's go," said Ben. Rolling his eyes Jeff packed up his belongings and stood up. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and followed Ben through the library. Jeff had longer legs, but he had to hurry to keep up with Ben's pace, especially when they got outside. "I don't see why you couldn't have just written that paper at home."

"I don't feel motivated at home. I'd just screw around online. By doing it at school, I feel guilty for screwing around and not writing it. You know, you should have really gotten yours done too, it's the one class you are taking, you can hardly fail it."

The parking garage had plenty of cars in it, but Jeff and Ben were the only people walking across it. They were almost at the car, it was only a couple hundred feet away. "This school is not my priority," said Ben. "Your safety is. I don't care about a law class when I am never going to be anything but-" He abruptly stopped talking and came to a standstill, his hand reaching for his silver stake. Jeff's heartbeat raced as he stood behind Ben.

"What is it?" Jeff whispered.

"Get to the car, Jeff." He took a step away from Jeff and away from the car. "Now."

"But-" Something slammed into Jeff from the right, knocking the Moroi down to the ground. Pain screamed through his body and he was momentarily shocked. But whatever it was, it was still on him. Jeff turned his head to look and his heart stopped as he looked into a pair of eyes. They would have been a beautiful shade of blue if not for the red ring that was around them. The Strigoi bared his fangs, ready to strike, but Ben came flying out of nowhere and tackled him, knocking the deathly pale body off of Jeff. "Car!" Jeff heard Ben shout. But Jeff was too shocked to move. He had never seen a Strigoi before. All of the stories he had heard his whole life had not prepared him. _This_ is what nightmares looked like. And Jeff was terrified. His heart was beating erratically as he watched his guardian struggle with the monster. "Jeff, RUN!" Ben yelled, just before the Strigoi punched him. Ben flew back and Jeff heard his head hit the pavement.

"Oh God," Jeff whispered.

"Run!" Ben said again, and this time Jeff was able to get up. He pulled out the keys as he ran to the car, beeped it open and dove inside.

He turned back around just in time to see the Strigoi snap Ben's neck.

Jeff wanted to vomit.

The Strigoi bent his head down, and with help of his superior eyes, Jeff could see what he was doing, Jeff could see exactly what he was doing. That was the moment Jeff truly panicked. Hands shaking, he managed to get the keys in the ignition. He turned the car on and shifted into drive. He pulled out the parking space and maneuvered his car to the exit. Thankfully they had parked on the ground floor of the garage, but this was Los Angeles and he couldn't leave without paying.

Jeff numbly swiped his card. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stop shaking. That Strigoi would have no problem catching up. He needed to get _out of this parking garage_. As soon as the bar lifted, Jeff slammed on the gas pedal and nearly got into an accident as he pulled out into the LA traffic.

He ignored the blaring horns and all of the people flipping him off. He needed to get away from here as fast as he could. But he couldn't go home. He didn't- he didn't have a guardian anymore.


End file.
